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New Hormone Treatment May Reduce Damage To Brains Of Premature Babies

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Not getting enough oxygen or blood flow to the brain of a premature baby can have long-lasting impact on strength, intellect and behavior.

"All premature babies get screened for brain injury. We do weekly ultrasounds if they've had some bleed, or less oxygen to their brain. And before discharge, we tend to do an MRI just to know exactly what the damage is," West Penn Hospital Neonatologist Dr. Nilima Karamchandani said.

The brains of premature babies are susceptible to damage, especially around the fluid-filled spaces called the ventricles.

Researchers wanted to know if damage could be stopped with a drug called erythropoietin, or EPO.

It's a hormone that regulates your body's red blood cell production. With cell damage, it can also have some protective anti-inflammatory effects.

"We have been looking for an agent, and this seems to be at the top of the list as something we can use to reduce the brain injury," Dr. Karamchandani said.

In a study of nearly 500 premature babies, half got EPO and half got a placebo. Doctors then analyzed their brain MRIs.

"They were able to show on the MRIs a fairly significant difference. The babies who received the erythropoietin, had less cellular damage," Dr. Karamchandani said.

The significance of these findings will become clearer as the babies are reevaluated every few months as they grow through childhood.

"Two years from now, five years from now, do these MRI changes have significant long-term consequences?" Dr. Karamchandani said.

The NICU at West Penn Hospital hasn't been using EPO.

"We are not using it for brain injury reduction because that is still experimental, it's not, you know, the state of the art to do it. But, we have used it for anemia," Dr. Karamchandani said. "I would like to see further studies, I would like to see long-term developmental improvement. And then, there'll come a time when I'm hoping we can use it."

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